1 The Union of Central America 

Speech delivered by Henry M. Hill in the School of Diplomacy 
and Jurisprudence of the American University, Washington, D. C. 



By Henry M. Hill. 



To the American People and the Government of the United States: 

Today I publish the second of my series of articles which I intend to 
write with the purpose of establishing more friendly relations and a better 
understanding between the Latin American countries and the United States. 

In these articles I show the more serious problems the United States has 
in the Central and South American countries, and give my opinion for the 
settlement of these problems. I have no interest in this matter other than 
love for my country and fellow-countrymen and my admiration for this 
great liberty-loving country, the land of the free and the home of the brave. 
No one is more friendly to the United States than I. Three-quarters of my 
blood is American — I feel proud of that. I was born under the American 
flag. At that time my father was the United States representative to my 
town, Santiago de Veraguas. As a child, my happiest moments were spent 
in the "atrio ' of the old Colonial church, watching the American flag waving 
over my father's house, and dreaming that some day I might come to this 
great country and procure for my land a greater liberty, justice and comity. 
Three years ago, when the United States entered into the conflict for the 
freedom of humanity and called upon all its good sons for the defense of 
the flag, I resigned my position as Attorney General in my province, left 
my home and went to the American officers' training camp in Oakland, 
Cal., to prepare for the struggle in defense of Old Glory. This I did of my 
own free will. Many of my ancestors helped to lay the foundation of this 
nation by fighting for its liberty. Now I wish to see the American flag 
waving in all its glory in the hearts of the Latin American people. 

My first article, "The Independence of Panama," was for the purpose 
of obliterating the false conception that Roosevelt took Panama, and to 
demonstrate that the United States has no reason whatever to indemnify 
Colombia because of the recognition of the Republic of Panama by the 
United States. My present article deals with the most important question 
in Latin America today, namely, the union of the Central American repub- 
lics. In my next article I will discuss the treaty negotiated between the 
United States and Panama on November 18, 1903. 

HENRY M. HILL. 

Washington, January 1921. 



To my dear friend of all times 

Honorable Jose Lefevre, Minister of Panama 

As a token of my Gratitude 



. "H<t 



The Union of Central America 

By Henry M, Hill. 
Ladies and < rentlemen : 

In September, 1921, the first centenary of the independence 'ofXentral 
America will be c< lebrated. On the L5th of that month, in 1821, th^-Spanish 
colonial Captaincy General of Guatemala (including what are now the five 

Central American republics, and the State of Chiapas, now for a long time^a 
part of Mexico) declared its entire freedom from Spain and from any and 
all other countries of the world, constituting itself a new, free, autonomous 
and sovereign political entity. The United States of Central America he- 
came separate republics shortly after their independence, by reason of 
regional dissensions. Since then, through several periods of Central 
American history, a new Union has been striven and even fought for, but 
unsuccessfully owing to the opposition to it offered and maintained by 
the politico-military rulers of the various states, each jealous of the power 
oi his brother presidents. It is, indirectly, to this splitting up of Centra! 
America, and, directly, to the petty politics that such a condition 
has made possible there, that the historian can trace every interstate 
war in Central America and also every revolution. Outside of Central 
America, the different governments composing it have not had, except very 
slightly, any participation as active belligerents in wars or revolutions 
where in the world. Their conflicts have been local. They have at leas! 
had the wisdom to make trouble only among themselves and to keep those 
((roubles at home. In uniting, all those troubles will cease for them. 

It may be very properly asked what has been the attitude, the will even, 
of the Central American people in this question of the Union. There is 
only one answer. The people of Central America have always desired the 
union of their little republics. This desire has been very solemnly stated 
in each and every constitution enacted in Central America, and by virtue 
of this ideal a citizen of any Central American country enjoys certain rights 
"i citizenship in each other of those five republics which are verj properly 
denied to citizens of other countries. For instance, a Nicaraguan may 
become a citizen of El Salvador merely by fixing his residence in I'.l Salva- 
dor and stating his desire to become a Salvadorean, and. -o naturalize. 1, 
he becomes invested with every right inherent to a born citizen ol El 
Salvador, even that of becoming, if so chosen, the Chief Executive of the 
State, just as a man born in California can fix his residence in North Da 
ind be eligible to the Governship of this latter State. The Central 

American with relation to other ( eiitral Americans is that of a United 
States eitizen of one State to the citizens ni the other States of (he Union. 
Because the vast majoritj oi ( entral Americans earnestly desire the Union 

and know that a oneness of tradition, of history and of aspiration, a racial 
and religious oneness, pervadefl and animates them all. 

Another pertinent question arises at this point. Why, if such lias been 

and is the attitude and the will of the people, has the Union not been made 

a fact? We have already partly answered this question. The jealousies 

among the military presidents of the different Central American countries, 



the desire of each of these leaders, to become himself the president of the 
Federation, the stubborn selfishness of each in not being willing to yield his 
power as president except to assume a greater similar power, have been the 
reason why the Union has not been made a fact. 

Not until this year has Central America freed itself from that kind of 
enthroned ruler: dictatorships of many years' duration have been, until this 
day, the rule there. And these petty tyrants always gave as the great reason 
for their abstaining from the formation of one only Central American 
republic, the alleged opposition of the United States of America to that idea 

The United States of America, the people of Central America were told, 
would not recognize the Central American Federation. All work for that 
ideal was, therefore, futile. The view thus readily gained ground that 
Washington was imperialistic minded, and preferred the diversion of Cen- 
tral America in order to absorb it, in the weakness of its division, all the 
more easily. 

It is this explanation for every manner of American interference in 
Central America, and this only, that has bred in those ardent latitudes 
the unquestionable anti-American feeling existing there. This feeling 
is not unknown in the United States; it has been felt; it has been looked 
upon with apprehension; during the war with Germany, despite the fact that 
all of the Central American governments had either declared war with Ger- 
many or officially come out as neutrals, but favoring the United States, 
Central America was watched closely as a possible source of mischief. 

On general grounds, is it at all desirable for a nation to have anywhere 
friends it cannot trust? More specifically, is it wise conduct for the United 
States to have so near its Canal (and consider all that the Canal can 
mean to the United States at war) a people living in hatred of the United 
States, a hatred that that people regard as righteous and patriotic? Is it 
not a fair thing and an advisable one — certainly a thing conducive to no 
embroilments anywhere — for the United States to show in a frank and noble 
manner its real attitude toward the Union of Central America, (declaring con- 
clusively that it will put up no obstacle to the consummation of the Central 
American Union desired by Central American patriotism? 



Let this so easy a thing to be done, be done and Central Americans will 
have no reason for cherishing, as now they cherish, an anti-American senti- 
ment. And I would say, do even more. 

I have affirmed that not until this year has Central America been out of 
the direct control of selfish and ambitious petty rulers. Now, for the first 
time in Central American history, the presidents of Central America are 
men mindful of the constitutions of their countries and respectful of the 
will of the people they govern. The new President of Guatemala. Carlo 
Herrera, was acclaimed unanimously on a Unionist program. The President 
of El Salvador has recently invited the governments of the other Central 
American republics to a conference, this autumn, to discuss the Federation. 
All the Central American governments have responded to that invita- 
tion and have declared in favor of the Union. They cannot, they dare, not, 
declare otherwise. But the evil of the petty, selfish, secession-promoters is 






not quite extinguished; its force is not altogether crushed; that evil works 
underhand; it is strong enough, through foxy political machinations, to 
make all Union efforts this fall mere sham and to hring the dishonor of a 
ridiculous defeat to the Union cause. 

Small questions of no vital importance, of no material consequence, will 
arise to undo the higher purpose of that conference; questions such as 
where will the Capital City of the Federation be situated, in which of the 
States. And pet;y rivalries on this point will be fomented. Again, argu- 
ments against the Union will be brought forth based on the fear lest any 
one of the States become a Prussia to the others. And so, ad infinitum, 
the selfsame difficulties, the very troublous questions almost, that forces the 
founders of the United States to hold the Convention which framed the 
Constitution for this great country, behind closed doors. 

What I would ask of the United States, therefore, is not only to state' in 
unmistakable language that it has no. objection to the proposed union of 
Central America, but that, on the contrary, it earnestly invites the 
Central American conference to sit in Washington (where a similar con- 
ference, that which established the Central American Peace Court, sat in 
1908). Here the Central American statesmen, foregathered to discuss the 
Union of their countries, will find that freedom from local clamor and 
pressure and that calm that Washington ajid his fellow-makers of this 
Union sought behind closed doors; and here, too, American advice and help, 
the guidance of a sincere, experienced elder brother, will be at that con- 
ference's disposal when and if solicited in the course of the settlement of 
any question that may arise to puzzle the conference. 

The time is now. The aid proposed, of the United States to the people 
of Central America, cannot be a nobler one. Of the material benefits that 
would accrue from this to American business and industry in Central 
America, it is unnecessary to speak. Besides, it is precisely in the United 
States that the financial aspect of the Central American Federation, the 
distribution or consolidation of the existing Central American foreign debts, 
must be settled. Born, as it were, from the loins of the United States in 
Dionysiac fashion, the new Federation of Central America cannot but be 
in a very high sense a child of this country. Central Americans will honor 
that parentage. 

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